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ACVB Unveils Enhanced Virtual Reality Tours for Event Planners

Friday, March 10, 2017

Lisa Plummer Savas

The Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau has launched a new suite of virtual site tour products designed to give meeting and event planners a taste of the destination while incorporating digital innovation and convenience into the sales and event planning process.

The enhancements feature three new itineraries that are the latest addition to ACVB’s existing VR experiences, which were unveiled last Aug. 13-16 at ASAE in Salt Lake City.

“Deploying virtual reality in this way allows our convention sales staff to provide (organizers and planners) with a much more immersive experience, complementing the site visit process,” said Andrew Wilson, ACVB executive vice president and chief marketing officer.

He added, “ACVB is one of the first organizations to adopt this innovative technology curated with both planners and visitors in mind.”

Created in partnership with 100 Creativity Digital, the ACVB’s suite of VR tools can be used in combination with the ATL360 Virtual tour on the AtlantaMeetings.com website, which provides a bird’s eye view of various Atlanta landmarks.

The three new VR options allow users to experience a mock site visit, explore the Georgia World Congress Center Authority campus and its surrounding after-hours entertainment, and visit five distinct Atlanta neighborhoods.

Points of interest along these tours include the Midtown Mile, Westside Provisions District and an aerial view of Centennial Olympic Park.

The immersive experiences are viewable with virtual reality goggles such as the Samsung Gear VR, are compatible with Google Cardboard and can be downloaded for free on Apple and Android devices.

ACVB also developed a version of the app that can be used on any iOS or Android phone without the need of an additional external viewer.

Although the VR products were developed as a complement rather than an alternative to in-person site visits, the apps are a convenient tool for organizers and planners unable to travel to Atlanta, allowing them the ability to take site visits from almost anywhere in the world, including home offices.

In addition, sales managers now have the ability to curate, annotate and guide the tours via a companion tablet app while a customer is viewing the VR experience with a headset, as the system depicts where the customer is looking while interacting with the virtual tour.